Yellow flames… everywhere, those flames flickered around everywhere, nothing went untouched by the flames. They devoured everything… and everyone… those cries and screams of the people echoed. It was not the fire that made the world tremble; rather, the screams of millions of people made the world tremble from this nightmare—

"GASP!!!"

Leo's eyes shot open as he sucked in a ragged breath. His nose filled with the stench of ash, while his mouth coughed up black dust and smoke—like he'd swallowed a piece of the fire itself.

He sputtered, ribs aching as if breathing was something foreign. His organs twisted painfully, almost like they'd only just awakened after a long, unnatural sleep… first time?

Leo's hazy eyes flicked toward the yellow flames swirling all around him, heat licking at his skin, but when he blinked, everything vanished..... only just twisted buildings looming overhead as he lay sprawled on the cracked, ruined street.

"W-What… what happened?" he muttered hoarsely, empty throat, barely more than a whisper.

It felt like he hadn't spoken in years.

His lips cracked as he croaked, "I-I need water." Slowly, with trembling arms, he tried to push himself upright.

"What in the world happened here?" he muttered in confusion, staring in disbelief at the desolation.

Just then, his fingers brushed against something wet. He frowned and looked to his side.

"OH MY SHIT!!"

He screamed as he scrambled backwards in pure terror. Dozens of dead bodies sprawled across the road, their skin marred with old wounds and… streaked with some kind of strange, fresh, transparent fluid.

The sight sent a chill crawling down his spine!

"What the fuck happened?" Leo whispered, voice shaking as he clutched his head, fingers digging into his scalp. The last thing he remembered—he fought against Fallen Nergal, and he won… and after that… what?

What came next?

"Arh!" He groaned, squinting against the throbbing pain in his skull as he struggled to remember. His thoughts grew heavy and muddled, as if someone had stuffed his mind full of mud, blocking every memory.

What happened?

What was it?

Cough, cough…

Leo doubled over as another fit of coughing seized him, black smoke billowing out of his mouth... bitter and choking, like he'd inhaled handfuls of burnt powder.

"I… arh… I need water," he rasped again, blinking away tears as he stared up and down the ruined street.

A little farther away, there was a small lime juice stall, battered but still standing, just before the collapsed facade of a huge clothes shop. Leo dragged himself toward it, each step slow and clumsy, his legs feeling stiff and almost alien... like, they'd forgotten how to move.

"What the hell is going on…? Where are the others?" he wondered aloud, fear and confusion twisting inside him. He reached the stall and stared at the faded juice cans, his hands trembling violently as he reached out.

"Come on, damn it, move…" he muttered, grabbing his own wrist with the other hand to force his numb fingers closed around the can.

Finally, with a shaky breath, he lifted the can, tearing it open.

Gulp… Gulp… Gulp!

He tilted his head back and drank greedily, cold juice stinging his parched throat. Each swallow sent a faint, hissing sensation through his body—like the flames inside him were dying, if only for a moment.

He let out a long gasp as a ribbon of hot black smoke snaked from his lips, curling in the air.

Leo stared at the rising smoke, "What…"

"LEO!"

Leo flinched at the sudden shout. He spun around, and before he could even register who was calling him, arms wrapped around him.

It was… Essa.

Leo blinked, "Essa? What—what happened?"

Essa didn't reply. She just clung to him, burying her face against his chest, holding on as if letting go would mean losing him forever.

Leo's mind raced, trying to make sense of it, but he couldn't. Still, he gently wrapped his arms around her, patting her back, speaking softly, "It's… it's okay. I'm here. Everything's fine, Essa, I promise." He let her hold him for a few more moments, feeling the warmth of her relief slowly calm the frantic beat of his heart.

At last, she pulled away, just enough to look up at him from beneath her hoodie, eyes searching his face for any sign of hurt.

"You alright? Really?" she asked her palm pressing gently to his cheek as if to reassure herself he was real.

Leo tried to offer a reassuring smile, though it came out weak and crooked.

"I'm okay… actually, I think I'm better than okay. I feel… like I've been reborn or something," he said, letting out a shaky laugh. He stepped back and stretched out his arms, breathing in deep. "It's strange, but I feel… freedom," he added, the word slipping out before he even understood it. For the first time, he felt truly unbound!

Essa frowned, her eyes clouded with confusion as she studied his face, "Freedom? What do you mean, Leo?"

He tried to explain, but the sensation was hard to put into words. "It's like—like something heavy finally left me. I can't explain it," he said, shaking his head.

"Haha… what are you even talking about—" Essa began, but she stopped abruptly. Her voice cut off mid-laugh, eyes suddenly widening. Her gaze slipped downward, beneath the shadow of her hoodie.

Leo noticed her silence and frowned. "Essa?" he called, waving a hand in front of her, but she didn't answer. Her eyes stayed locked on something below his waist, her face turning strangely blank, almost dazed.

"Hmm? What's wrong-" Leo started, confused, but the question caught in his throat the moment he followed her gaze.

That's when he saw it... his body, completely bare. Just like the day he was born.

His heart skipped a beat. He stared in disbelief as the cool air brushed over every inch of exposed skin—his "cute elephant" was dangling in the open, enjoying a freedom he'd never granted it before.

"SHIT!" Leo yelped, both hands flying down to cover himself.

'How long have I been naked? The whole time? Oh, shit—how in the fuck did this happen? Tsk, I need clothes!'

He remembered the clothes shop. Without meeting Essa's gaze, face blazing with embarrassment, he stammered, "It's not—look, it's not what you think, okay?!"

Essa said nothing. She stood frozen, still staring at the empty air where his nakedness had just been revealed, her expression stuck somewhere between shock and... the beginnings of a nosebleed?

Meanwhile, Leo spun around and dashed into the ruined clothing store, one hand still covering his backside. He yanked the battered door shut behind him and started rummaging frantically through the scattered debris, muttering to himself, "When the hell did I end up naked? I don't remember taking my clothes off… just what the fuck happened?" His fingers searched for anything that would fit.

It wasn't just his clothes. His hidden weapons, the UV lights, his watch... everything had vanished.

Did Nergal do this to him? Or was it something else? He had no way of knowing.

With a sigh of relief, Leo finally found a half-decent set of clothes and threw them on as quickly as possible, forcing his trembling hands to button them up. He hesitated a moment, running his fingers over the empty spot where his watch should have been, then shook his head and made his way back outside.

Essa hadn't moved an inch. She was still rooted to the same spot, gaze vacant, as if replaying the memory in her head on a loop only she could see.

"Essa? Is everything alright?" Leo asked, his voice shaky with embarrassment. He couldn't believe he'd just shown her… everything, especially with a war raging outside.

"ESSA?" He shouted, snapping his fingers sharply in front of her face when he saw her still not responding. Only then did Essa flinch, her eyes blinking as she came back to herself. "Oh… yeah," she murmured, a puzzled expression shadowing her features beneath the hoodie. After a pause, she looked at Leo curiously.

"Did I… see something I shouldn't have?"

Leo gulped, his face stiffening. "W-What are you talking about?" he replied, forcing a nervous laugh as if everything was normal. "You didn't see anything. You just… went silent all of a sudden. I'm the one who brought you back, remember?"

"I-I see." Essa nodded slowly, still looking confused. She hesitated, then squinted at him.

"Oh? I thought I saw… a little elephant."

"L-Little?" Leo blurted, 'It wasn't little… It's just normal!' he thought.

Essa's brow creased as she took in his freshly donned clothes. "When did you change—"

Clang…

A sudden metallic sound rang out along the ruined street, slicing through the tension. Both Essa and Leo stiffened, eyes narrowing as they turned toward the edge of the road.

There, they saw… Fallen Pride, striding forward with a calm, prideful air. Her boots struck the broken ground with a sharp, deliberate screech, every step echoing in the uneasy silence. Her eyes, cold and focused, didn't even acknowledge them at first.

Instead, she gazed over the devastation, then crouched beside the corpses littering the street.

Fallen Pride's sharp gaze roved over the bodies, lingering on old wounds before she nodded slightly. With a gloved hand, she reached down, black fingertips rubbing against the sticky, transparent fluid that coated the dead. She hummed, curious. "Hmm…" Her voice was a low, thoughtful murmur as she pinched her gloved fingers together, testing the substance. "It looks like… someone's saliva," she said.

Finally, she straightened, dark eyes snapping up—locking onto Leo and Essa standing nearby.

Fallen Pride frowned. "Did you see… anything unusual?" she asked, her tone oddly curious, as if she hadn't tried to kill them just minutes before.

Essa's lips parted, ready to retort, but Leo stepped forward, meeting Fallen Pride's gaze with cool resolve. "I don't see anything, except you acting… unusual," he replied.

For a moment, Fallen Pride simply stared at him, her expression unreadable. Then she let out a soft hum and turned away, glancing down the opposite end of the road.

There—everything was as it had always been.

No cracks... No broken buildings... No destruction...

The devastation stopped abruptly at a line in the street; everything on one side was wrecked, while the other remained untouched. Like half the world had been torn apart, and the other half left whole.

That means…

'That Entity must be around here, or…'

'Did it get called back by the relic?' Fallen Pride wondered. She rose to her full height, black metallic armour groaning, and fixed her gaze on Leo. Her eyes glittered with a cold, merciless light as she spoke in a frosty voice,

"What are you waiting for?

Didn't you come here for me?

To end this madness… for your beloved champion?"

Leo's hand clenched into a fist. Just then, Essa stepped forward and thrust a sword into his hand. "You lost it back there," she said,

"Don't lose your focus now!"

Leo managed a tense, grateful smile. "Thank you-"

Sssnnnccc!!

Pride was already in motion!

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